With the roster deadline coming on Saturday, Richards apparently was not going to make the cut. Although he was a second-round pick in 2015, the strong safety hasn’t done much to impress over three years with the Pats.

Last year, Richards appeared in all 16 games (five starts) and totaled 22 tackles plus one forced fumble. Pro Football Focus ranked Richards the No. 78 safety in the NFL last year out of 87 qualified players, so it’s not a total shock to see him jettisoned from New England.

Assuming Richards makes the 53-man cut in Atlanta, he’ll serve as a reserve behind starting strong safety Ricardo Allen. The Falcons will start former first-round pick Keanu Neal at free safety with Ron Parker serving as the top backup.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

]]>1Pats Sign Seven Draftees, Seven UDFAshttps://www.profootballrumors.com/2015/05/seven-draftees-udfas
https://www.profootballrumors.com/2015/05/seven-draftees-udfas#respondFri, 08 May 2015 19:22:17 +0000http://pfr.traderumors.com/?p=17008The Patriots announced the signings of a number of rookies today, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed eight of their 11 draft picks, and another seven undrafted free agents. Two of those draft picks – fourth-rounder Tre’ Jackson and seventh-rounder Xzavier Dickson – had their deals previously reported, but six of the names are new, and Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun tweets that a ninth draftee has signed his contract as well.

The following picks have signed their contracts, per the team and Wilson:

Jordan Richards, DB (second round)

GeneoGrissom, DE (third round)

Trey Flowers, DE (fourth round)

Shaq Mason, OL (fourth round)

Matthew Wells, OLB (sixth round)

A.J. Derby, TE (sixth round)

Darryl Roberts, CB (seventh round)

Of New England’s 11 draft picks, only first-rounder Malcom Brown and fifth-round long snapper JoeCardona remain unsigned. In addition to locking up most of their draft class, the Pats have formally inked seven undrafted free agents to deals. Here are those players:

]]>0AFC Quotes: Belichick, Newsome, Telescohttps://www.profootballrumors.com/2015/05/afc-quotes-belichick-newsome-telesco
https://www.profootballrumors.com/2015/05/afc-quotes-belichick-newsome-telesco#respondSat, 02 May 2015 15:26:57 +0000http://pfr.traderumors.com/?p=16770Following the second day of the draft, the league’s coaches and general managers took time to explain their logic to reporters. We already took a look at some of the notable soundbites out of the NFC, so let’s now shift our focus to the other conference…

“[Richard is a]strong tackler, a pretty instinctive guy, and certainly able to play on the punt team, kickoff return, kickoff coverage and punt return — could be a matchup guy outside or maybe a hold-up guy in the box. I’m sure he’ll be able to contribute in the kicking game.”

“At the start of the day, we had a little bit of spacing there [with our picks] — top of the fourth, bottom of the fourth, no fifth, but top of the sixth, top of the seventh, bottom of the seventh. Now we have three picks in the fourth round, and we’ve kind of filled in that fifth round.”

“We get to a point where we feel it’s time to go get a player, we wait through three or four picks and then I get a little antsy. When you’ve got ammunition, you just go and get the player. It wouldn’t have mattered who was picking at that spot for us to move up and get the guy.”

“Jim Irsay, the owner for the Colts, almost every year of the draft used to always say, ‘You don’t control the draft. The draft controls you.’ And that’s a lot of times what happens. There may be a certain way you want to go. But if there’s not a player you have evaluated in that spot, there’s nothing you can do about it. So you’ve got to stick with your board… These players fit the characteristics we’re looking for. I think they make us a better football team, and we’re happy to have these guys. They’re going to have pretty good careers here.”